Fabric drier



4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORSZ JOHN RTHYGESONSR. CHARLES W. ALLEN WWW March 5, 1968 1. R. THYGESON, SR.. ETAL FABRIC DRIER Filed Aug. 23, 1965 1||||1 Ill.. l1 lllllxlllllll. .....H.H.H.H.H............-.-.. 111111 1 1-- 5 w. ...1.1m 11-111.11.111. ..1111-1--1 -11 .wmmmmummmnwwwww E -1- .m1 www1. V11 |11 1 l1I 1 1 1 1 1| 1. .1 1 1 .r. u. 1u-.

ATTY S.

March 5, 1968 J. R. THYGESON, SR., ETA; 3,371,428

FABRIC DRIER Filed Aug. 25, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORSI JOHN R. THYGESON,$RA CHARLES W. ALLEN March 5, 1968- J. R. THYGESON, SR., ETAL.

FABRI C DRIER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 23, 1965 INVENToRs. ESON,SR. A I LEN JOHN R.THYG CHARLES W.

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ABSTRACT F THE DESCLSURE A material treating apparatus suited for drying carpeting dyed by a wet process, the apparatus consisting of a housing, conveyor means for continuously moving the carpeting along a predetermined path through the housing and conditioninfT means for heating and circulating a treating medium through the carpeting as it passes through the housing. The interior of the housing is divided into several chambers or compartments including a plenum chamber communicating with a conditioning chamber where the treating medium is heated, and an air return manifold below the plenum chamber. The plenum chamber has a transfer section defined by a pair of spaced apart, longitudinally extending wall portions and a pair of adjustable side walls. The side walls are adjustable so that the volume of the transfer section of the plenum chamber may be selectively varied to accommodate carpeting of various widths, the upper and lower edges of the adjustable side walls being provided with seals so that substantially all of the treating medium circulated in the housing is directed through the transfer section of the plenum chamber and the material supported on the conveyor.

This invention relates to material treating apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus for drying various types of materials and fabrics.

The drying apparatus of the present invention is especially adapted for drying carpeting which is dyed by a wet process. Apparatus presently employed for this purpose comprises a generally enclosed housing having conveyor means for conveying the carpeting through the housing. The conveyor means usually comprises tenter chains gripping opposite side edges of the carpeting and a plurality of longitudinally spaced rolls against which the underside of the carpeting is supported during movement through the housing. It has been found that with this arrangement the carpeting tends to sag and in some cases causes distortion and stretching of the carpeting. In these apparatus, the carpeting is dried by hot air impingement. More specifically the drying is accomplished by forcing heated air through horizontal ducts disposed above and below the carpeting, the ducts having a plurality of orifices or nozzles confronting opposite faces of the carpet and extending generally transversely to the direction of movement of the carpet through the dryer housing. By this arrangement the air impinges the bottom and top face of the carpet at high velocity.

It has been found that this means of drying dyed carpeting has several drawbacks. For example, the specific arrangement of the ducts and oriiices provides low heat transfer rates since little air actually contacts internal parts of the carpet. More specifically since the ducts and nozzles usually extend substantially the entire width of the dryer housing, a large percentage of the heated air circulated in the dryer housing is not utilized and hence the drying rate or efficiency of the apparatus is low. For example, since the apparatus usually accommodates carpet of various widths and the nozzles or orifices extend transverse to the housing for the entire width thereof, some of the heated air is not directed against the car- 3,37lA28 Patented Mar. 5, 1968 lCC peting, but takes the path of least resistance around the side edges thereof. By reason of the leakage, it is diicult to control the condition of the drying medium which is necessary to achieve uniform drying. If a comparatively narrow carpeting is being dried, there is a large amount of waste resulting in the areas outboard of the side edges of the carpet. Additionally, in order to completely dry the carpets, it is sometimes necessary to pass the carpeting through the dryer several times. Another alternative in lieu of passing the carpet through the dryer several times is to move the material through the dryer at an extremely low rate. This, of course, adds to the cost of drying and reduces the overall eiiiciency of the drying process. Further, in these prior apparatus it has been found that it is necessary to circulate the air at a high speed, for example 200G feet per minute.

The present invention provides a novel drying apparatus which overcomes the drawbacks and problems of the prior types noted above. The drying apparatus of the present invention comprises an elongated substantially enclosed housing having an entrance end and a discharge end, conveyor means including tenter chains of the pin type adapted to grip the carpeting at opposite selvage edges to continuously convey carpeting through the housing, a plenum chamber above the one face of the carpeting and an air return chamber or manifold at the opposite face of the carpeting. A conditioning chamber includes heaters and fans for circulating the air through the plenum chamber and the air return manifold in the direction indicated in the drawings, particularly FlG. 3. ln accordance with the present invention, there is provided a sealed plenum chamber and means for selectively adjusting the width of the plenum chamber to accommodate carpeting of various widths whereby substantially all of the treating or drying medium is circulated through the carpeting during its movement through the dryer housing. By this arrangement, the condition of the treating medium may be controlled very accurately and hence insure uniform drying of the carpeting as it passes through the apparatus. Furthermore, this arrangement provides a high drying rate of movement through the dryer. Furthermore, the elimination of the manifolds and nozzles provides a much simpler and less complex apparatus, and hence it is more economical t-o manufacture.

With the foregoing in mind, an object of the present invention is to provide a drying apparatus which is characterized by a scaled plenum chamber whereby substantially all of the drying medium circulated in the dryer passes through the material to be dried and hence the apparatus is extremely efficient and effective for the purposes intended.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a drying apparatus wherein the width of the sealed plenum chamber may be selectively varied to accommodate carpeting of various widths.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a drying apparatus which is of comparatively simplified construction and which is economical to make and requires a minimum of maintenance.

These and other objects of the present invention and various features and details of the operation and construction thereof are hereinafter more fully set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1l is a side elevational view of a drying apparatus in accordance with the present invention with parts broken away to show some of the structural details thereof;

FIG. 2 is a plan View of the drying apparatus shown in FIG. 1 with parts broken away to show the internal construction thereof;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on lines 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the trolley supports for the tenter rails;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on lines 55 of FIG. 4; v

FIG. 6 is a transverse sectional view through the dryer housing taken on lines 6-6 of FIG. 5 Aillustrating the adjustable curtain between sections of the housing;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken on lines '7-7 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the curtain shown in FIG. 6.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown article or material treating apparatus embodying the present invention. Considering the primary components of the apparatus in terms of function, articles to be treated, for example, an elongated piece of carpeting 10 is continuously moved through a substantially enclosed dryer housing 12, by means of a conveyor system. The conveyor system includes a foraminous conveyor 11 suitably actuated by a motor M for movement in an endless path between supports 13 and 15 at the entrance and discharge ends of the housing. The conveyor system further includes tenter chains 12a, 12b of the pin type mounted for movement in an endless path by the motor M between supports 17 and 19 at the entrance and discharge ends of the housing and which as illustrated for example in FIG. 3, engage and grip the selvage edges of the carpeting 1t) to guide the same through the dryer housing 12. The chains 12a and 12b run in inboard rails Ra and Rb when conveying the carpeting through the dryer and run in outboard return rails Ta and Tb when disengaged from the carpeting. By this arrangement the carpeting is maintained substantially liat during movement through the housing, thus eliminating sagging, stretching and distortion. During movement of the carpeting through the dryer housing 12, a heated drying medium is circulated through the carpeting to effect drying thereof.

Even though the dryer of the present invention is described in connection with the drying of dyed carpeting, it is of course to be understood that it has useful applications for treating or drying other types of articles or materials.

Considering now the structural details of the dryer, the dryer housing 12 is divided, in the present instance, into three sections, an entrance section Se, a middle section Sm, and a discharge section Sd. These sections, which are of substantially identical construction, are mounted end to end to form a continuous enclosed dryer housing. Each section of the housing includes a top wall 22 and opposing side walls 24 and 26. The entrance section Se includes a front wall 28 having suitable openings Oe therein to accommodate the conveyor system and movement of the carpeting into the housing and the discharge section Sd has a rear wall 30 which also has suitable openings Od to facilitate the conveyor system and permit discharge of the carpeting. In order to minimize leakage of drying medium from the housing 12 through the openings Oe and Od, an air curtain may be provided at the feed and delivery ends of the dryer. To this end there is provided a vertical partition 31 including a section 31a having a sealing member engaging the top face of the carpeting, the vertical partition 31 being spaced from the front wall 28 to define an air curtain chamber 33 at the feed end of the housing. Ductwork 35 including a fan 37 communicating with the air curtain chamber 33 draws air from the air curtain cham-ber whereby leakage of the drying medium from the housing is minimized.

A similar air curtain chamber 39 defined by a partition 41 including a section 41a having a resilient sealing element is provided at the delivery end of the housing. Ductwork 43 and a fan 45 communicate and draw air from the air curtain chamber 39.

The internal construction of the dryer housing is best shown in FIG. 3. Each section of the dryer housing 12 is subdivided into several compartments or chambers including a plenum chamber Cp, an exhaust manifold C., and a conditioning chamber Cc. The conditioning chamber Cc is defined by a vertical partition 30 spaced from the side wall 24, a horizontal wall section 34 spaced be'ow the top wall 22 and the terminal section 36a of a horizontally extending partition 36 spaced from the support surface.

Suitable conditioning means in the form of heaters 40 are mounted in the conditioning chamber Cc and a plurality of motor operated fans 42 are provided in the top wall section 34 of the conditioning chamber Cc at spaced locations along the length of the dryer to effect circulation of drying medium through the housing in the manner indicated by the arrows in FIG. 3. Lint screens 41 are provided on one side of the heaters 40 remote from the fans 42. The space below the partition 35 defines a return duct for the lower run of the foraminous conveyor. Suitable discharge ducts 60 having cooperating slide dampers 62 therein may be provided in the housing cornmunicating with the air return chamber Ce for selectively controlling the amount of air withdrawn from the dryer.

In order to accommodate carpeting of various widths, the tenter rails Ra, Rb, Ta and Tb are mounted for adjusting movement relative to one another in a direction widthwise of the housing. To this end as best illustrated in FIG. 3, there is provided at longitudinally spaced intervals in the dryer housing support means for the opposed tenter rails which are selectively adjustable toward and away from one another to thereby selectively regulate the distance between the tenter rails. In the present instance, the support means for the tenter rails are in the form of pairs of trolleys or carriages a and 80h carrying the tenter rails which are movable in a direction transverse to the housing on a trackway in the form of an I-beam 82 supported between spaced vertical pedestal beams 83 interiorly of the housing. As best illustrated in FIG. 5, the carriages mount wheels 84 which straddle and ride on the lower iianges of the I-beam 82. The carriages 80a and Sb of each pair are selectively adjustable toward and away from one another by means of a jackshaft 8S journaled at opposite terminal ends in bearings carried by the pedestals 83. The jackshaft 8S has oppositely threaded terminal portions a and 90b which engage respectively in internally threaded openings 89a, 89b in the body portion 91a and 91b of the carriages 80a and 80b of each pair. By this arrangement rotation of the jackshaft 88 in one direction effects movement of the pairs of carriages or trolleys toward one another and rotation of the jackshaft 88 in the opposite direction effects transverse displacement of the carriages away from one another. In the present instance, the carriages of each pair are adapted for simultaneous adjustment and to this end there may be provided a transmission linkage generally designated by the numeral 92 operatively connecting all of the shafts 88 which in turn through suitable gearing is connected to a drive mechanism including the motor M2.

Another important feature of the present invention is the provision of a sealed plenum chamber whereby substantially all of the air circulated in the drying chamber is directed through the carpeting, thereby resulting in a controlled drying rate and providing an apparatus of high etiiciency. The plenum chamber Cp is provided with means whereby the volume thereof may be selectively varied and at the same time maintain sealed during adjusting movement of the tenter rails to accommodate carpeting of various widths. To this end, there is provided in the plenum chamber Cp a pair of horizontally disposed floor wall sections 97 and 99 which are supported in the housing in a plane coextensive with the top of the trackway 82 and which, as illustrated, have longitudinally extending confronting side edge portions spaced apart to define a slot 101 extending the length of the housing. The wall section 97 is connected at its outer terminal edge to the vertical partition 30 and the wall section 99 is connected adjacent its outer side edge to the side wall of the housing. The plenum chamber Cp includes a transfer section defined in part by opposed lower longitudinally extending side wall sections which are movable toward and away from one another during adjustment of the tenter rails. As best illustrated in FIG. 3, the lower side wall section 100 is of L-shaped cross section including a horizontally disposed leg portion 101 secured to the bottom of the trolley 80a and a vertical leg portion 103, the terminal edge of which lies adjacent the wall 97. The other lower side wall section 102 is of similar cross section except in reverse and includes a horizontal leg portion 105 secured to the bottom of the trolley 80b and a vertical upright leg portion 107, the terminal edge of which lies adjacent the wall 99. By this arrangement, the volume of the transfer section of the plenum chamber Cp may be selectively varied by adjusting the side wall sections whereby the apparatus may accommodate carpeting or other materials of various widths. These lower side wall sections of the plenum chamber transfer section are provided with suitable seals to minimize leakage of drying medium passed the side walls. To this end the vertical leg 103 of the sidewall section 100 carries a longitudinally extending sealing strip 110 at its upper terminal edge which sealingly engages the lower face of the wall 97, a short seal pad 112 which engages the lower flange of the I-beam 82. A lower sealing strip 114 is mounted on the inner terminal edge of the leg portion 101 of the side wall section which lies adjacent the selvage edge of the carpeting as best illustrated in FIG. 3. The lower side wall section 102 is also provided with similar sealing means including a strip 111 along the upper terminal edge of the vertical leg po-rtion 107, a short seal pad 113 and a lower sealing strip 115 along inner terminal edge of the horizontal leg portion 105. These sealing strips and pads may be made of a suitable seal material for example, silicon rubber.

In some instances it is desirable to vary the drying conditions in the various sections of the dryer. For example, in the drying of dyed carpeting, optimum drying thereof may be obtained by circulating the drying medium at a predetermined temperature in the entrance section Se, a slightly lower temperature in the middle section and a still lower temperature in the discharge section Sd. T o this end, in the dryer illustrated, there is provided parutions 129 and 131 dividing the plenum chambers of the various sections of the dryer. These partitions are identical in Construction for the various sections. Thus, each partinon comprises a stationary dividing wall 130 in the upper portion of the plenum chamber whose lower terminal edge engages the top of the floor sections 97 and 99 andan adjustable curtain or partition 132 in the lower section of the plenum chamber below the line of the walls 97 and 99. This curtain 132 is best illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 and as shown therein, comprises a central fixed curtain section 134 of a length approximately equal to the narrowest spacing between the tenter rails and a pair of movable panels 136 and 138 on opposite sides of the central section 134. The panel sections 136 and 138 have angled lips or flanges 140 and 141 respectively at their upper terminal edges which engage in channels 142 and 143 defined by runners 144 and 145 secured to the underside of a pan 147 spanning the slot 101. The outer side edge portion of each of the panel sections 136 and 138 conforms to the shape of the side wall portions 100 and 102 of the plenum chamber being suitably connected thereto by means of angle plates. The movable panel sections are provided with suitable sealing strips 139 along their lower edges. By this arrangement, during adjusting movement of the carriages to vary the spacing between the tenter rails, the panel sections 136 and 138 are automatically moved with the rails and effectively seal the plenum chamber between adjacent sections of the dryer. It is noted that there is a common exhaust manifold for all of the sections, there being no need to block the eX- haust manifold of the sections to achieve the desired temperature control.

Considering now the operation of the dryer in connection with the drying of dyed carpeting, the carpeting 10 is fed into the entrance end of the dryer housing and conveyed through the various sections of the dryer by engagement of the tenter pins in the selvage edges of the carpeting. As noted above, the air curtain chambers 33 and 39 at opposite ends of the housing minimizes leakage of drying medium from interiorly of the housing. During movement of the carpeting through the housing, the various motor operated fans 42 circulate treating medium through the carpet in the direction indicated by the arrows in FlG. 3. After passage through the carpeting the air enters the exhaust manifold and then is drawn by the fan through the lint screen and through the heaters 40. It has been found that air may be circulated at a rate of 200 feet per minute to effect uniform and effective drying of the carpeting. In order to control the temperature of the drying medium circulated in each of the plenum chambers, there is provided temperature sensing means 150 in the plenum chamber of each section which is operatively connected to the heater for that section and a control device 151 on the side of the housing for selectively regulating the heaters in each section to change the temperature of the treating medium in response to temperature sensed by the sensing means. In the drying of dyed carpeting, the sensing means in the entrance section Se may be set to provide a temperature of 320. In the middle section the temperature may be set to about 280 and in the discharge section the desired temperature may be set to be in the vicinity of 240. It has been found that by reason of the sealed plenum chamber, leakage of circulating drying medium is minimized and substantially all of the drying medium is directed through the carpeting thereby to provide a highly effective and efiicient drying process.

While a particular embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described herein, it is not intended to limit the invention to such disclosure and changes and modifications may be made therein within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for treating articles such as -carpeting comprising an elongated, generally enclosed housing, c011- veyor means for conveying the carpeting along a predetermined path through said housing including tenter chains having pins engaging opposite side edges of the carpeting, means mounting said chains for adjustment so that carpeting of various widths may be accommodated, means defining a conditioning chamber in said housing including heating means and circulating means, means defining a plenum chamber extending lengthwise of said housing at one side of the carpeting communicating with said conditioning chamber, means defining an air return manifold on the other side of the carpeting communicating with said conditioning cham-ber, said plenum chamber including a transfer section defined in part by a pair of longitudinally extending wall portions spaced apart to provide an opening therebetween, a pair of adjustable side walls and means mounting said side walls for movement relative to one another so that the volume of said transfer section may be selectively varied and first seal means sealing the transfer section at the juncture of the upper edge of said side walls and longitudinally extending wall portions and second seal means adjacent the lower edge of said side walls confronting the material on said conveyor providing a sealed plenum chamber transfer section whereby substantially all of the treating medium circulated in said housing is directed through the transfer section and through the carpeting supported on said conveyor means.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 including at least one palr of rails for the tenter chains running lengthwise of the housing, a plurality of pairs of trolleys in said housing carrying said rails, and means mounting the trol- 7 leys of each pair for relative movement withdwise of the housing.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein the means mounting the trolleys of each pair includes a trackway for the trolleys extending widthwise of the housing and a jackshaft having oppositely threaded terminal portions which engage in the trolleys whereby rotation of said jackshaft in one direction effects movement of the trolleys of each pair toward one another and rotation of said jackshaft in the opposite direction effects movement of the trolleys of each pair away from one another.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the conveyor means also includes a foraminous conveyor mounted for movement in an endless path against the underside of the carpeting is supported.

5. Apparatus for treating articles such as carpeting comprising an elongated, generally enclosed housing, a conditioning chamber extending the length of said housing to one side thereof, said conditioning chamber including heating means and circulating means, conveyor means for conveying the carpeting along a predetermined path through said housing, means defining a plenum chamber extending lengthwise of the housing at one side of the carpeting communicating with said conditioning chamber, means defining an air return manifold on the other side of the material communicating with said conditioning chamber, said conveying means including tenter chains having pins engaging opposite side edges of the carpeting, support means for the tenter chains selectively adjustable widthwise of the housing to accommodate carpeting of various widths, a pair of spaced apart horizontally disposed, longitudinally extending wall sections defining the lower fioor walls of said plenum chamber, a pair of longitudinally extending lower side wall sections carried by said support means, first seal means carried by the upper terminal edge of one of the lower side wall sections which sealingly engages one of the floor wall sections, second sealing means carried `by the upper terminal edge of the other lower side wall section, the lower terminal edge of each of the lower side wall sections carrying an elongated sealing strip which overlies the side edges of the carpeting, this arrangement providing a sealed plenum chamber whereby substantially all of the treating medium circulated in the housing is directed through the carpeting.

6. Apparatus for treating material comprising an elongated, generally enclosed housing, conveyor means for conveying the material to be treated along a predetermined path through said housing, means defining a conditioning chamber in said housing including heating means and circulating means, means defining a plenum chamber extending lengthwise of said housing communicating with said conditioning chamber, said plenum chamber including a transfer section dened in part by a pair of longitudinally extending wall portions spaced apart to provide an opening therebetween and a pair of adjustable side walls, means defining an air return manifold below said transfer section of the plenum chamber, means mounting said side walls for sideways adjustment relative to one another whereby the volume of said transfer section may be selectively varied and seal means for Completely sealing said transfer section whereby substantially all of the treating medium circulated in said housing is directed through the transfer chamber and through the material supported on said conveyor means.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein said seal means includes a first sealing strip connected along the upper edge portion of each of said side walls and engaging one of said longitudinally extending wall portions and a second seal strip connected to the lower extension of each of said side walls confronting the material on said conveyor.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6 including curtain means at longitudinally spaced locations in said plenum chamber dividing the housing into a plurality of sections and means for varying the condition of the treating medium in each section.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein said conveyor means includes tenter chains said means for adjustably moving said side walls includes at least one pair of rails for the tenter chains running lengthwise to the housing, a plurality of pairs of trolleys mounted on said side walls carrying said rails, and means mounting the trolleys of each pair for relative movement widthwise of the housing.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein the means mounting the trolleys of each pair includes a trackway for the trolleys extending widthwise of the housing and a jackshaft having oppositely threaded terminal portions which engage in the trolleys whereby rotation of said jackshaft in one direction effects movement of the trolleys of each pair toward one another and rotation of said jackshaft in the opposite direction effects movement of the trolleys of each pair away from one another.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 347,212 8/1886 Varney 34-158 X 863,830 8/1907 Ashley et al. 34-216 X 1,966,405 7/1934 Galson et al. 34-223 X 1,968,764 7/1934 Harris 34-225 X 2,336,698 12/1943 Morrill 34-223 X 2,346,138 4/ 1944 Morrill 34223 2,378,703 6/1945 Hanson 34-158 2,388,226 10/ 1945 Hanson 34-158 2,795,056 6/1957 Remer 34-216 X FREDERICK L. MATTESON, JR., Primary Examiner.

C. R. REMKE, Assistant Examiner. 

